Between weekend reports and FCC tests published today the existence of a Google-branded Android handset which sources say will be sold directly to consumers beginning early next year has been confirmed.
Beginning with what we know to be true, several Google staffers were given a smartphone at a company meeting on Friday. By Saturday, the Official Google Mobile Blog had been updated with word that the company has begun “dogfooding” (as in, eating your own dog food) a “mobile lab” which combines hardware and software to experiment with new features.
“We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it,” said Google’s Mario Queiroz, Vice President, Product Management.
Following that, a report in the Wall Street Journal suggested that the device would be called the Nexus One and would be sold to consumers.
Google's Nexus One hits the web.
“The phone, called Nexus One, was designed inside Google and will be sold, at least initially, without being subsidized by a wireless partner, these people said,” wrote the Journal. “It is the latest sign of the Internet giant’s ever-broadening wireless ambitions as Google hunts for ways to expand its Internet services beyond computers.”
Smartphone blog Boy Genius Report, too, has added a little fuel to the fire with an access log which clearly shows a “Nexus One” user agent accessing their servers via WebKit, the very same browsing engine used by Android.
Last, but not least, a few Tweets from Google employees confirm the existence of the phone and point to HTC as the vendor.
Leslie Hawthorn, December 11:
Stuck in mass of traffic leaving work post last all hands of 2009. ZOMG we had fireworks and we all got the new Google phone. It’s beautiful
Jason Howell, December 12:
The new Google Phone runs on HTC hardware. I saw it w/ Android 2.1. Homescreen has new visual enhancements like animated desktop wallpaper.
Following the HTC breadcrumbs takes us to a Tweet from Cory O’Brien which conclusively describes an included image as the Google Phone, pictured right. Soon thereafter, a series of photos which show the device from additional angles began hitting the streets on outlets like TechCrunch and Engadget:
The FCC has certified the Nexus One.
These images show a phone that is the spitting image of an unknown device, of which images were leaked in October with HTC branding. Posts that followed in the late November/early December time frame reveal that the device is actually the HTC Passion, and once again, the resemblance is undeniable.
According to those sources, the HTC Passion (and therefore the Nexus One) will boast the following specs:
- 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
- Android 2.1
- 3.5″ capacitive touch screen
- 480×800 resolution (a la HTC Touch HD)
- No QWERTY
- 802.11b/g
- BlueTooth 2.1+EDR
- GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA radios
On the final spec we can begin to understand what US networks the Nexus One would be compatible with. According to a trio of FCC reports (here, here and here) which detail the device’s compliance testing, the Nexus One worked on Band IV, better known as UMTS 1700MHz. That makes it extremely likely that the phone will be coming to market as a tri-band 900/1700/2100MHz device which, if true, would slate the Nexus One for T-Mobile and European carriers who use 1700/2100MHz for metropolitan coverage, and the 900MHz Band I for more sparse areas. That also means AT&T and its 1900MHz network is probably out in the cold.
Final thoughts
With FCC corroboration, we know that the Google Nexus One is a real device that is in the hands of Google’s elite, and it is not shrouded in a veil of secrecy. From what has been unleashed in a few short days, it is most certainly compatible with T-Mobile, and is easily the Android-powered equivalent of the HTC Touch HD that everyone has been waiting for.
What we do not know for certain is whether or not consumers will ever get their hands on it, but we find it remarkably unlikely that Google and HTC would go through the trouble of developing a new handset with no intentions of bringing it to market.
We will keep you updated as the story unfolds.
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